Feb.6 (GMM) Ferrari fans should not expect the famous Italian team to be stronger in 2017. That is the view of former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore, following the Maranello marque’s disappointing year in 2016 featuring not a single race win. And now, the 66-year-old Italian doubts anything will change for 2017. “The team is […]
McLaren team rejects BMW rumours
Feb.6 (GMM) McLaren has dismissed rumours linking the British team with a potential F1 tie-up with German manufacturer BMW. McLaren’s current works partner in F1 is Honda, the Japanese marque that since 2015 has been clearly the least impressive ‘power unit’ performer on the grid. It then emerged that, for its future road car projects, […]
Alonso-Mercedes rumours ‘baseless’ – Briatore
Feb.6 (GMM) Flavio Briatore has rejected speculation Fernando Alonso was ever a serious contender to drive for Mercedes in 2017. When the reigning champion team suddenly had to replace the retiring Nico Rosberg, Spaniard Alonso was on everyone’s lips as the spectacular potential choice. But Briatore, still involved in the management of McLaren driver Alonso’s […]
Rosberg wanted Alonso to replace him
Feb.6 (GMM) World champion Nico Rosberg has admitted he would have liked Mercedes to replace him for 2017 with Fernando Alonso. Actually, the German marque has signed up Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, having also seriously considered its own junior Pascal Wehrlein. When asked what his preference would have been, Rosberg told the Spanish sports daily […]
Berger, Briatore doubt Ecclestone will return
Feb.6 (GMM) Two experienced F1 pundits do not believe Bernie Ecclestone will mount a comeback. The deposed F1 supremo has already dismissed claims he might set up a rival ‘breakaway’ series, but retired reigning world champion Nico Rosberg is not so sure. “Ecclestone has said that but you can’t believe it because he’s done it […]
Wehrlein ‘as fast as Bottas’ – Lauda
Feb.6 (GMM) Only his lack of experience meant Pascal Wehrlein was overlooked for the top Mercedes cockpit in 2017. That is the claim of team chairman Niki Lauda, amid criticism that the fact Mercedes signed Valtteri Bottas demonstrated a lack of faith in the marque’s top junior, 22-year-old Wehrlein. “With Wehrlein it was only about […]
Mercedes can assess Bottas after four races – Lauda
Feb.6 (GMM) Niki Lauda has urged Valtteri Bottas to get quickly up to speed at Mercedes. The Finn was drafted in at the eleventh hour to replace the suddenly-retired Nico Rosberg, but team chairman Lauda has tipped Bottas to be as competitive as his German predecessor. “I think he can bring the performances we expect […]
SMP not looking to deepen F1 involvement
Feb.3 (GMM) Boris Rothenberg, who heads Russia’s major SMP Bank and a racing division called SMP Racing, said he is not looking to expand the F1 programme. SMP has been represented across motor racing, including Le Mans and Indycar, but the centrepiece is its involvement in formula one. Last year, it was in the form […]
2017 rules good for F1 and for me – Magnussen
Feb.3 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen thinks the 2017 rules will be good for formula one — and for him. The Danish driver, who has switched from Renault to the small Ferrari-linked American team Haas, argues that the bigger tyres and more downforce is exactly what the sport needed. “It’s great,” he told the Danish newspaper BT. […]
Heavier 2017 cars will still be faster
Feb.3 (GMM) Although the weight of the cars is rising yet again, the 2017 grid will still be considerably faster. Speed Week, a German language publication, said the minimum weight trend in F1 has been creeping steadily up since the 70s when the cars weighed just over 500kg. More recently it was just over 700kg, […]
F1 must free the ‘artist’ in drivers – Zanardi
Feb.3 (GMM) F1 must liberate the drivers if it wants to improve the on-track spectacle. That is the view of former driver Alex Zanardi, who said restrictive rules and over-zealous stewards are damaging the sport. “Formula one today? A bit too boring,” the 50-year-old Italian and paralympic champion is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport. […]
Ferrari considering buying into F1 – Marchionne
Feb.3 (GMM) Ferrari could be the first F1 team to take up Liberty Media’s offer of shares in the sport. We have reported that despite Liberty’s eagerness for the teams to take up to 20 per cent of the commercial rights, none have accepted the offer so far mainly because it would not include the […]
McLaren-BMW deal sparks F1 rumours
Feb.3 (GMM) F1 journalists are wondering if McLaren’s works relationship with Honda could be on unsteady ground. The British team made progress in 2016, but the now more than two year relationship with Honda following the Japanese carmaker’s return to F1 has been otherwise troubled. So it is with interest that some commentators digested this […]
Kubica to race top prototype at Le Mans
Feb.3 (GMM) Robert Kubica is inching tantalisingly close to his old days in formula one. The Pole, now 32, has competed at the highest level of world rallying, but been unable to return to single seaters after almost severing his wrist in a 2011 crash. But the former BMW and Renault driver has now signed […]
Wolff not sure Ecclestone ‘really gone’
Feb.2 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone may be gone as chief executive, but he may not be gone for good according to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. Long-time ‘F1 supremo’ Ecclestone, 86, recently rejected claims his comeback might be in the form of a breakaway series. But Wolff insists the inimitable Briton can never be written off. […]
Todt no fan of two-day race weekend idea
Feb.2 (GMM) F1 does not look set to switch to a two-day race weekend format any time soon. The news comes after Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul said that as Liberty Media takes over the sport, scrapping Friday would be a cheap and easy way to make F1 “more dynamic”. It might also be a way […]
Renault-Sirotkin deal to proceed after Vasseur exit
Feb.2 (GMM) Sergey Sirotkin will stay with the Renault team in 2017 despite the change in upper management. That is the news from the mouth of Boris Rothenberg, a leading Russian banker who also heads a prominent Russian motor sport programme. Spearheading the ‘SMP Racing’ programme from the cockpit is GP2 driver Sirotkin, who was […]
Vettel’s Ferrari switch a mistake – Berger
Feb.2 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel’s 2015 switch from Red Bull to Ferrari was a mistake. That is the view of F1 legend Gerhard Berger, referring to the fact that the quadruple world champion’s switch to the famous Italian marque was compared at the time to his mentor Michael Schumacher’s move of two decades ago. “But Michael […]
Drivers vote against ‘Halo’ for 2018 – report
Feb.2 (GMM) ‘Halo’ could be put on the back burner for yet another year. Earlier, the FIA looked to debut the controversial head protection system in 2017, but agreed to delay it for a year following a lack of consensus. Now, the German publication Auto Motor und Sport reports that Halo might not even arrive […]
Manor could still be saved for 2017 – report
Feb.1 (GMM) Embattled F1 backmarker Manor’s hopes may still be faintly alive. Actually, it appears that only 10 teams will line up on the 2017 grid, after Manor’s administrator FRP recently announced the out-of-money team must “close its doors”. But Luis Vasconcelos, a correspondent for the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, said hopes may still be […]